Method of harvesting ice.



E. C. PORTER.

METHOD OF HARVESTING ICE.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 15, l9l5.

1, 1 3, 31 3. Patented May 4, 1915.

' before the section is split.

UNI

immense. roman, or BROCKTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

METHOD OF HARVESTING ICE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May4, 1915.

Original application filed March'i, 1912, Serial 1V0. 680,827. Dividedand this application filed January 15,

1915. Serial No. 2,295. v

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EMMoNs C. PORTER,

a citizen of the United States, residing at Brockton, in the county ofPlymouth and State-of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement inMethods of Harvesting Ice, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to certain improvements in methods of harvestingice, this application being a division of my, application for LettersPatent of the United States filed March 1, 1912, Serial No. 680,827, forice harvesting apparatus.

In harvesting ice, it has been customary to groove the ice fields withice plows, or similar appliances, then to cut the fields into largesections, or floats, which are floated through a channel to theice-house, and are split, by a hand chisel, into small cakes, justbefore they are delivered to the conveying chain.

. The method of groovingnow generally employed is slow and somewhatexpensive, and it frequently happens, from various causes, that thegrooves become filled With water, which freezes, so that it isimpossible to split the sections into regular cakes.

This is particularly. liable to occur when the sections are floatedaconsiderable distance in very cold weather, as the water is likely toflow intothe grooves and then freeze Furthermore, in'case of a rain, orthaw, after the field has been grooved, so that the grooves become"filled with water, and this is followed by freezing weather, so that theWater freezes in its grooves, it frequently happens that the fields cnnot be even regrooved, so that a large .field' of ice is lost, orcannot be harvested. Also, in seasons where there is a short crop, theice is i frequently unsafe for horses, so that horsedrawn plows cannotbefused,

Various forms of apparatus have been devised. for groovingicefieldswhich comprise a vehicle having circular saws mounted thereon, butif practical devices of this sort were produced, they would not overcomethe difficulty above. noted, where it is necessary to float thesections: long dis tances.

The object of my inventionis'to provide a method of harvesting ice-whichwill ohviate the difiiculties above referred to, and

which will, to a large extentvreduce the amount of grooving necessary inthe icefields', and enable the use of a stationary power plant for thispurpose, so that the whole operation may be greatly facilitated, and theexpense thereofbe reduced.

I accomplish. this object, primarily, by grooving the ice intheice-field to a sufiicient extent only to. permit it to be separatedinto large sections, which may be conducted through the usual channelfrom the field to the ice-house, to a 'point adjacent the. latter, andthen forming grooves in'each ice-section, as it is thus being floated tothe ice-house, by passing the same beneath circular saws or cutters,which are mounted above the level of the Water, and dip therein, to adesired extent. I further facilitate the cutting and feeding operationby ar ranging and operating said saws, so that they will act to create acurrent in the water,

in the 'direction'in which the ice is to be moved, so that thepropulsion of the sections to the saws r-will be assisted, and the sawswill out tq better. advantage than if they were otherwise operated, andwill have at the same time, 'a feeding action through theresistancerequired to remove the chips.

In further carrying out the process, I, in

employed. V

Fig. 1 of the drawing illustrates, in a general way, anice-harvestingplant-in which a indicates the ice-field on the-body ofthe Water, and b a channel leading from the leefield to the foot oftheice-elev'ator c of the storage housed. i

In carrying out my process, the ice-field is merely grooved in largesquares, or rectangles, of a size such that they may be subsequentlydivided into a large number The ice is'then separated into sections onthe lines of these grooves, and conducted of small cakes,'of asizeadapted for storage.

into the channel. A pair of shafts aand f are mounted in horizontalposition over the channel 6, and in positions at right angles thereto,in proximity to the storage house, a suitable space being providedtherebetween. A gangof circular saws, g are mounted on saidshafts inuniformly spaced relation, the corresponding end saw of each gang beingarranged at a distance from an edge-guide h at the side of the channelwhich is equal to the distance between each saw. The particular numberof saws to be employed and the particular distance which they'ar'earranged, one from the other, de

pends on circumstances, and is largely a matter of choice. That is, itdepends on the required dimensions of the cakes to be stored, andthe'size of thesections to be taken from the ice field. For example, if

a section is square, and is to be divided into sixteen square cakes,three saws will be provided on each shaft, the spaces between which willbe equal. Variations from this arrangement for diflerent conditions willbe obvious. aid shafts are, filrther, so positioned, that the lowerportions of the saws dip into the bodv of water to an extentcorresponding to the depth of groove to be cut, and thesaws are soarranged on the shafts 90 that the teeth, on the lower portions thereof,point in the direction in which the "ice is moved as it passes throughthe channel" to the ice house, A suitable sourceof poweris providedwhich is adapted to rotate the saws forward, or in thedirection in whichtheir teeth point, as indicated bv'the arrow 1m Fig. When, thus operatedin the normally still water of the usual ice pond, 1t will be apparentthat "the saws will have an 40 action to throw or force thevwater in thedirection in which their lower 'portions are moving, in the presentinstance, in theilirection of the channel toward the storage house,thereby causing a current of more or less force to flow in the channel,in the direction in which the ice sectionsare floated therethrough. ilhestrengthof this current will vary greatly, according to circumstances,-from an almost negligible quantitv, ,to a considerable force, dependinglargely on the opportunity for return flow, and the length of time whichthe saws are permitted to rotate in the water between sections. However,under ordinary conditions, if the saws are row tated free in the water,as soon as an ice section is moved into proximity toythe saws,

a current will have been created,-'which will have a propellinglactionon the section,.sufficient toassist e workman, to anextent, W in pushingthe section into engagement with the saws. As soon as. an ice-section isin proximity to the first gang of saws, it will e pressed'a must theedge-guide h, while it is floated a ong into engagement with the W saws.As soon as the saws engage the'icesection, they will begin to cutcorrespondinggrooves in the upper surface thereof, to a depthcorresponding to the extent to which the saws dip in the water, and, asthe action of the teeth of the saws on the ice is rearward, or in thedirection in which the ice is being floated, as well as downward, theresistance to the force required-to remove the chips acts to draw thesection along, so that the saws feed the ice to themselves as fast asthey cut. grooves therein, thereby having a combined feeding and cuttingaction, the entire action being automatic. Asa result, a series ofparallel grooves, corresponding to the number of saws, will be cut inthe surface of the ice-section, as it passes beneath the first set ofsaws.

in practice, a 'V-shaped recess iscut in one side of the channel betweenthe two saw shafts of a size sufficient to permit the section to begiven a quarter of a turn therein, and when this has been done, thesection is again held against the edge-gage and floated under the secondset'of'saw's, which, operating in like manner to the first set, form aparallel set of grooves in the surfaceof the ice-section at right anglesto the grooves first formed. Theice-section is then split, usuallyby'hand, into small cakes,'on the line of all'of its grooves, afterwhich, they are delivered to the ice-elevator.

I claim i. The method of grooving the upper portion of a bod of'ice',consisting in moving the body of ice in a predetermined path through abody of water, beneath a circular cutter, while rotated about ahorizontal axis, disposed above the surface of the water, at rightangles to said path, with its lower portion di pin into the water. i v

2. T e method of grooving the upper portion of a body of ice, consistingin causing the body of iceto float in 'a predetermined path through abody of water, beneath a circular cutter, while rotated about ahorizontal. axis, disposed at. right angles to said path, with its lowerportion dipping into the ody of water.

3. The method of grooving ice which con- I sists in forwardly rotating acircular cutter about a horizontally disposed axis over a body of water,with its lower portion dipping therein ,and moving in a predetermineddirection, and moving a body of ice in the water, in said direction,beneath the cutter and into engagement with its lower portion, so thatthe cutter has a combined feeding and grooving action.

4' he method of grooving ice, which consists in forwardlyrotating acircular cutter about a horizontally. disposed axis. over a body ofwater-withits lower portion, dipping therein and m'eving in apredetermined. direction, and'niov ng .a body of ice, while. floatingtheiem,'in said direction, and be ioo neath the cutter into engagementwith its lower portion, so that the cutter automatically feeds andgrooves the ice. 6

5. The ,method of harvesting ice, which consists in floating a bod ofice in a body of Water toward a point 0 delivery, and in a predeterminedpath, beneath a gang of suitably spaced circular cutters, rotating aboutan axis disposed horizontally, and at right angles to said path, at adistance above the surface of the water, so that the lower portions ofthe cutters dip into the Water at predetermined points in said path, andmove in the direction of movement of the ice.

6. The method of grooving a rectangular shaped ice section, preparatoryto separating it, into small cakes, Which consists in floating thesection in a predetermined path through a body of Water beneath a gangof circular cutters, mounted to rotate about an axis disposedhorizontally above thesurface of the water, at a right angle to saidpath, so that the lower portions of the cutters dip into the Water, toform one set of parallel grooves in the upper portion of the section,then passing the section beneath a second set of similarly arrangedcutters, in a position relative thereto at right angles to the positionin which it was passed beneath the first set, to form a second set ofgrooves at right angles to those first formed. 7

7. The method of harvesting natural ice,

which consists in separating an ice body from the ice field, moving said'body, while supported in the water, in a predetermined path, beneaththe centers of a series of cutters, rotating in parallel planes, and inspaced relation, in position to cut a series of correspondingly disposedincisions in the ice body from the upper side thereof, and as the bodyis movedpast the same.

8. The method of harvesting natural ice, which consists in separating anice .body from the ice field, moving said body in a predetermined path,while supported in the water, beneath a series of cutters stationarilysupported above and depending into the water in spaced relation, to forma correspondingly disposed series of parallel grooves in the upper sideof said body, extending in the direction of said path.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses;

EMMONS C. PORTER.

Witnesses:

WM. M. ADAMS, LEONARD H. PORTER.

